As the title suggests, ''The Altimate Rewrite'' by Albert is a retelling of Final Fantasy VIII through a combination of text and edited game screenshots. The work is notable primarily for its Broad Strokes approach to the source material: unlike a standard Novelization or Let's Play, it makes extensive alterations to setting, backstory, characterization, and plotline, with a large amount of original material worked in.

This work provides examples of:

Chessmaster: Cid, to the point where even people who know what he's up to, like Martine and Laguna, are appalled at how good he is at it.

"Groundhog Day" Loop: In place of the Stable Time Loop of the original. Ultimecia remembers every iteration, and Cid/Odine find out through Thay's diary. So far, they're about 200,000 times through the loop, to the point where Cid's given up on breaking it, and is merely attempting to make each pass through as bearable as possible.

Scrapbook Story: The rewrite is told out through Thay's officer diary (with a few entries from the rest of the party). It ends up becoming far more relevant after The Reveal, where we learn that Cid is using past versions of the diary to predict how the latest time around the time loop will go.

Unresolved Sexual Tension: Mostly averted between Thay and Rinoa. They do have a major falling out on the Ragnarok, however, when Rinoa is not flattered by Thay's willingness to forsake the world just for them.

Wild Mass Guessing: The story has been subject to countless pages worth of speculation on the real identity of Ultimecia and just what the heck is going on. Fans periodically PM Albert with their guesses, to which he is fairly responsive. The content of these private exchanges has largely been kept secret, and the mystery hasn't been spoiled yet.

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